Chapter 26
“You were the one who started it, weren’t you? Talking about ownership to a person like that is reckless.”
“‘I ask, does such a graceful lady have an owner?’”
Recalling my words, the man’s face flushed red.
“Y-you bastard! Ever since earlier—!”
Unable to contain his anger any longer, the man leapt from his seat and swung his fists. As usual, Zen lightly dodged by simply shifting his body and twisted the man’s arm behind him to subdue him.
“Ahh!”
The man’s scream echoed. The steward watched them anxiously but didn’t dare intervene. Zen tilted his head and said,
“Who did you send the invitation to, some nobody?”
The steward bowed deeply.
“My apologies, Your Highness. I will deal with it immediately.”
“Y-your Highness?”
For a moment, the clouds parted, and bright moonlight streamed onto the terrace. With the shadows on Zen’s face gone, his icy eyes glinted sharply.
The man’s face turned pale in an instant.
“Y-your Highness….”
As if his legs had given out, the man slumped to the terrace floor. A few nearby guards approached and saluted Zen.
“Take him away.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Dragged away by the guards, the man kept glancing back at Zen in disbelief. Spectators who had gathered, drawn by the commotion, murmured as they watched the man, Zen, and Lia in turn.
Lia, however, watched the scene unfold as if none of it concerned her, quietly sipping champagne.
After the man was escorted away, they returned to the terrace. By now, the steward had cleaned it so thoroughly that it was as if nothing had happened.
“You said he changed, changed… but why didn’t you even snap back at him? Just stood there and took it?”
“What?”
Lia blinked in genuine surprise at Zen’s sudden words.
‘Just stood there and took it… If he knew what I’d done since falling into this world, he’d never say that.’
She subtly averted her gaze, recalling the things she had snapped at Erni and Daren.
“I mean, throw a little tantrum like before.”
“You showed up too early. If you had been a bit later, I would’ve sprayed the champagne.”
It was Zen who hadn’t given her the chance to misbehave. Admittedly, he had also been a bit lazy and had considered leaving it be.
‘Still, all that would’ve done is add gossip: the Cablic heir is still a wild one, the crown prince seems…’
It was a completely different problem than with Erni or Daren. A stranger, a one-time encounter. One moment of restraint, and it would’ve ended there.
But Zen seemed to think differently.
“Don’t hold back.”
“…Hold back what?”
“Anything.”
Clicking his tongue as if displeased, Zen turned his gaze to the sky.
‘Don’t hold back… First time I’ve heard that since coming to this world.’
“You’re no longer just the lady of the Cablic family. As a future member of the royal family, act properly.”
Lia chuckled. Though Zen’s tone sounded cold, she could easily sense the worry beneath it.
‘Has he… gotten fond of me already?’
Thinking about it, it was almost laughable to sit next to someone she had thought so terrifying and actually have a conversation.
She followed Zen’s gaze to the sky beyond the terrace. Stars and the moon hung in the darkened sky.
“Full moon,” Zen muttered, as if to change the topic.
“…Yeah.”
Earlier, the clouds had been thick, but now the sky was clear. A startlingly large, perfectly round moon had taken its place.
Lia stared at the full moon, completely mesmerized. It was a breathtaking sight.
‘Come to think of it, this is probably the first time I’ve properly looked at the sky since coming to this world. They have full moons here too.’
It felt strangely new. It wasn’t just a world from a book; it seemed like another real place. Lia glanced at Zen. The moonlight fell on his unrealistically handsome face and silver hair.
‘No way… A face like that can’t exist in real life. It belongs only in books. And that silver hair… huh?’
Her eyebrows twitched.
‘The full moon… hitting his hair… it looks like it could crumble…’
A sense of déjà vu crept over her. She had seen this somewhere, even though it shouldn’t exist.
“Why are you staring?”
Zen asked, noticing her gaze.
“…Lia?”
“Full moon… on a snowy night.”
Lia murmured absentmindedly. A scene flashed through her mind like a movie panorama, or a flash of memory.
[He collapsed into the snow, unable to even let out a dying scream. His blood, dark red against the pure white snow, slowly spread. Soon, a puddle deeper and larger than his body formed.]
In her mind, she saw pure white snow, red blood, and scattered silver hair.
“Ah….”
She let out a sigh without realizing it.
“Lia?”
A full moon on a snowy night. That was the night Zen died. Her vision blurred.
“…Ah, Lia?”
Suddenly, she snapped back to reality at his call. Through her shaking vision, she saw Zen frowning and holding her shoulders with both hands.
“Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”
“Ah, it’s….”
She realized she had been staring blankly.
“Nothing, it’s nothing.”
She couldn’t say she had pictured him dying, so she bowed her head deeply instead.
“It doesn’t feel like nothing.”
Zen scrutinized her expression, still suspicious.
Her heart pounded wildly, with a rhythm she couldn’t understand.
‘Am I… scared?’
Of what? Zen’s death was a truth she had known long before entering this world. In fact, she had assumed he must die for Ciclaen’s sake.
Lia stared at Zen, frozen. Zen would die. It was a clear fact—unchangeable, and she didn’t want it to change.
‘But somehow…’
She pressed her hand against her chest. At that moment, loud music echoed from the hall beyond the terrace.
“The banquet must be starting properly,” Zen said, no longer concerned about her state. He rose from his seat and extended a hand.
“Let’s go.”
Lia shook her head vigorously. Zen would die—it was inevitable. That wasn’t what mattered right now. She placed her trembling hand over his, trying to ignore her racing heart.
The hall, so bright after leaving the dark terrace, overwhelmed her. She felt dozens of eyes fixed on her again.
‘Will I ever get used to this? Or… can I?’
If she truly became the crown princess, or even the empress, she’d have to endure this scrutiny constantly.
Noble onlookers gradually gathered around. As the only heir to the throne, Zen naturally mingled with them, smiling, while Lia stood stiffly beside him, enduring conversations that bored her.
She pressed one hand to her chest, still unsettled after seeing the full moon.
After a while, a woman appeared on the low stage—a lady in a thin red dress wrapping her neck.
Lia instinctively knew she was the empress. Not just because of the red dress. She remembered this scene.
‘I had forgotten because it was just a passing episode…’
In the original story, Zen brought Ciclaen here, and she met the empress unguarded.
‘And what happened then…?’
The empress stood in the center, smiling calmly. Even without words, the hall fell silent as if doused with water. From afar, her presence was intimidating. Young ladies seeing the empress for the first time looked on in awe.
Zen said, “Next, it’s our turn. Get ready.”
“What? Our turn?”
Lia’s eyes widened at hearing this for the first time.
“You mean we have to go up on that stage?”
Zen shrugged, as if asking such a thing was pointless.
“You think I wouldn’t announce you as the crown princess? Surely you don’t think we’d just sip champagne on the terrace and leave?”
That’s exactly what she had been thinking.
Lia averted her gaze from Zen. Just then, the empress, having finished a brief greeting, looked at them.
“Go.”
“Wait—”
Before Lia could protest, Zen grabbed her hand and led her onto the stage. The empress met their gaze with a gentle smile.
Lia gritted her teeth. Her hands trembled uncontrollably from nervousness.
At that moment, something on the empress caught her eye—a brooch.
‘A brooch?’
In the center of a gold-trimmed sapphire brooch was an engraved letter “S.”
‘S… could it be…’
Lia’s gaze was fixed on the brooch as if nailed there.
“Lia.”
Zen’s low whisper brought her to her senses, and she bowed.
“…I greet Your Majesty. I am Lia of the Cablic Duchy.”
The empress looked at her intently and elegantly, yet audibly enough for all to hear, replied:
“Thank you for attending the banquet today… Miss Cablic.”
Lia noticed the empress felt uncomfortable. Considering the sudden engagement announcement, it was only natural.
“…It’s an honor to be invited.”
“Yes… You are betrothed to Zen…”
The empress examined Lia closely.
“Yes.”
“Normally, an engagement is first formally arranged between families…”
The empress’s tone sounded displeased, but Zen interrupted:
“This engagement was my wish. It was rushed, so please don’t be too harsh.”
“Hmm…”
The empress’s expression didn’t relax, but Lia had no time to worry. Her eyes remained fixed on the sparkling brooch on the empress’s dress. Her pupils shook uncontrollably, memories from the original story surfacing.
In the original, Zen brought Ciclaen here unguarded, and then…
‘Right, not long after…’
The empress… dies.
